Magic Mushrooms May Help Lift Persons From Depressed Mood

Highlights:

Psilocybin is a psychoactive
compound that naturally occurs in magic mushrooms, used mainly as a
recreational drug since prehistoric times

Current study shows that magic
mushrooms could reset the brain network in depressed patients and elevate
mood in patients who fail to respond to standard treatments

Psilocybin in
magic mushrooms may be capable of resetting the brain network in chronically
depressed persons and lift their mood, according to a recent study conducted by
a team of scientists at the Imperial College London. The findings
of the study led by Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, Head of Psychedelic Research at
Imperial, appear in the journal Scientific Reports in October 2017.

Magic Mushrooms in Treatment of Resistant Depression

Depression is a common cause of disability
worldwide. According to the WHO, at least 350 million persons worldwide are
living with depression and the numbers can only increase.

Magic Mushrooms May Help Lift Persons From Depressed Mood

The standard
treatment for depression includes psychotherapy and/or antidepressant
medications and fortunately most people respond to treatments and make a
recovery sooner or later. However, some patients do not respond to standard
therapies and are associated with serious consequences including suicide.

‘Psilocybin the psychoactive compound naturally found in magic mushrooms may be potentially useful in treating depression where conventional therapies fail.’

Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, Head of
Psychedelic Research at Imperial, who led the study, said: "We have shown
for the first time clear changes in brain activity in depressed people treated
with psilocybin after failing to respond to conventional treatments."

"Several of our patients described feeling 'reset' after the treatment and often used computer
analogies. For example, one said he felt like his brain
had been 'defragged' like a computer hard drive, and another said he felt
'rebooted'. Psilocybin may be giving
these individuals the temporary 'kick start' they need to break out of their
depressive states and these imaging results do tentatively support a
'reset' analogy. Similar brain effects to these have been seen with
electroconvulsive therapy."

Testing
Magic Mushrooms in Depressed Patients

The current study is the first using psilocybin for depression.

Twenty
patients with treatment-resistant form of depression were given two doses
of psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg), with a gap of a week between the two
doses.

Nineteen
patients underwent initial brain imaging before the treatment and then a
second scan one day after the high dose treatment. Carhart-Harris and his
team employed two main brain
imaging methods to measure changes in blood flow and the crosstalk between
brain regions.

The
patients were provided questionnaires to complete to give feedback about
their depressive symptoms.

The notable observations of the study
included the following

Immediately
following treatment with psilocybin, patients reported a reduction in
depressive symptoms shown by improvement and elevation of mood and relief
of stress and "after-glow" effect.

Functional
MRI imaging revealed decreased
blood flow in certain areas of the brain, including the amygdala, a
small, almond-shaped region of the brain associated with emotional responses such as stress and fear.

Another brain
network, earlier linked to psilocybin's immediate
effects as well as to depression itself was found to be more stable
following the treatment.

These findings provide an insight into
what happens in the brains of people
following intake of psychedelic, where an initial disruption of brain networks
during the drug 'trip', is followed by a re-integration later.

Dr Carhart-Harris explained:
"Through collecting these imaging data we have been able to provide a
window into the after effects of psilocybin treatment in the brains of patients
with chronic depression. Based on what we know from various brain imaging
studies with psychedelics, as well as taking heed of what people say about
their experiences, it may be that psychedelics do indeed 'reset' the brain networks associated with depression, effectively
enabling them to be lifted from the depressed state.

Professor David Nutt, Edmond J. Safra
Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and director of the
Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences, and senior
author of the paper, added: "Larger studies are needed to see if this
positive effect can be reproduced in more patients. But these initial findings
are exciting and provide another treatment avenue to explore."

Future
Plans

The team plans to start a larger trial
early next year to compare the effects of psilocybin with a leading
antidepressant.

In conclusion, the research team is
highly encouraged and excited by their initial findings, but are quick to add
that depressed patients should not attempt to self-medicate with psilocybin as
the consequences could be serious.

Coping
with Depression

Depression is a common mood disorder that
affects how one thinks and feels. It is characterized by sadness, low mood,
loss of interest in activities enjoyed earlier, feeling worthless, tiredness,
sleep disturbances, social withdrawal, and suicidal ideas in extreme cases.

It is important to recognize the symptoms
and signs early and seek urgent medical attention. It is important to have coping
mechanisms to prevent or reduce the effects of depression. These include the
following

Do
not neglect warning signs or symptoms. Seek early medical treatment

Learn
about your condition and the resources available

Avail
social support of friends and family and join a support group to share and
gain from others experiences

Eat
healthy and sleep well. Lack of sleep makes depression worse

Exercise
regularly as exercise has been found to increase naturally produced mood
elevating hormones in the body

Recommended Reading

Depression

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.

The World Health Organization reports that depression is one of the main causes of disability affecting about 121 million people worldwide. More tragically, it claims around 850,000 lives every year. Hence, it is important that we understand this ...

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